Inquiry-based science

A branch of education reform and constructivism that is based on the belief that students can construct their own knowledge, rather than simply being exposed to knowledge from books and teachers.

Washington's WASL science test is based on this, with little or no testing of science facts, but students as young as the 5th grade are tested on their ability to design or alter experiments, complete with equipment list of beakers, batteries, and cables and isolate different variables of made-up experiments. As a result, a student who is a walking encyclopedia of science facts could fail, while a student who was given a short course in designing experiments, something that most parents didn't even receive in high school, might pass.